Padfoot and the Lion
by MuggleFriendly
Summary: With Sirius on the run as an accused killer and with a Hippogriff he needs someone to help him hide and in that he finds a witch with whom he has a lot in common and a cause to protect she will affect his life and change the course of events. Rated M for (hopefully) later chapters. (Sirius/OC)
1. The Beginning

He had wished goodbye to Harry in an instant. He hadn't memorised Harry's face it had been too confusing in the Shrieking Shack he had been blinded too angry staring Pettigrew down, the rat that he, was he hadn't looked at Harry in detail there; then when the Dementors had found them he was too close to death to know what was surrounding him his eyes had flickered open for a second just to catch the stag Harry seemed to constantly be carrying reminders of his parents with him and then when he had been rescued by Harry he was beyond joyous he had looked at Harry then but just seen James.

Now that he felt the constant rhythm of Buckbeak's wings and the up and down movement of flight he tried to memorise Harry's face but once again could only see his dear friend Prongs but now that he thought he saw that Harry was not entirely James, no Harry had inherited Lily's eyes. Her vivid, green eyes had stared back at Sirius. Apart from the obvious Sirius had a hard time remembering Harry's face he could see the scar but in his mind it was a bright, shiny red he knew this wasn't how it looked in real life but he hadn't seen Harry long enough to know he didn't know the details like when you could imagine someone's face so precisely you knew where the lines on the faces were from laughing to hard or where they had an acne scars. Sirius could remember James and Lily's faces in this detail and he did it now. As he imagined them a cruel voice from the back of his head spoke "They'd hate you for abandoning their son, you're the only chance of a loving family he has" but Sirius knew it wasn't true he had seen the way Ron and Hermione had defended him even the way Lupin had smiled at him still the thought was hard to shake.

Once he had freed himself of the cruel voice another thought came into his head: where the hell was he going to go? He had just flown away...an now the realisation hit him he had no where to go. The majority of the wizarding world hated him 'Sirius Black serial killer', his old friends were either dead or turned against him and the only people he could think of, Harry and Lupin, were in the safe confines of Hogwarts and would draw too much attention. "South" he muttered Buckbeak immediately changed course he just knew he had to get as far away as possible and why not have somewhere hot to spend his time. The rest would come later.

Just started I'll see how this goes, it'll follow thestoryline in the books as in when Sirius comes back but obviously there will be the introduction of a new character.


	2. On the Run

He had flown for God knows how long and his hands had become numb from the cold. Sirius was still only in the few rags he had for clothing it was a mix of the Azkaban prisoner uniform and rags he had found when hunting down Pettigrew he hadn't taken care of himself preferring to stay in his Animagi form and so the clothes now smelt of mould the kind that suffocates you and hits you in the back of the throat. He hadn't noticed it before but now that there was nothing to think about the smell was all around him lingering following him. Through the rags of his 'clothes' he could feel the biting of the wind his cheeks were freezing and his fingers had frozen up the muscles were refusing to grip Buckbeak's back. The feathers on Buckbeak's back were slippery and hard to grip it was made even harder by his muscles refusing to yield to his instructions to grip.

Sirius looked to the ground all he had seen since taking flight was the dark ground below with the occasional glow of bright orange from a muggle town or city below him spread across the ground he had thought of stopping in some of them but thought it better to put as much distance between him and Hogwarts as humanly possible. As the blackness of the ground spread before him Sirius had forgotten when the last Muggle settlement he saw was. The thought had just flickered across his mind when there was an orange glare "Of course just when I think about it it comes" Sirius whispered under his breath but the orange wasn't just from a city he saw that it was the sun slowly rising on the horizon.

Sirius had hoped to fly until Buckbeak could no longer fly but now he realised he couldn't fly in the day there was too much risk of a Muggle sighting or the Ministry.

He urged Buckbeak down to the ground slowly he started to descend he saw a small village nearby but chose to land on a hillside that lay above the village, at the bottom of the hill was woods. Sirius had always loved the woods, he attempted to swing his leg round to dismount Buckbeak but his muscles groaned in pain and he had to stretch his limbs before he was eventually able to get off. When he landed on the ground he momentarily thought that someone had cast the Jelly-Legs curse upon him he even looked around for someone nearby before he realised his legs were suddenly adjusting to having weight put on them again. He looked towards Buckbeak who looked back with an encouraging but tired look on his face Sirius understood how someone could love him. Sirius then realised how exposed he was if any wizard or witch saw him now he would be caught and if a Muggle saw him with a Hippogriff it would certainly be reported to the Ministry and the place would be swarming with people who wanted him dead.

So he ran at full speed towards the woods he heard Buckbeak following him eagerly surprised at the sudden motion. Sirius had no cover on his feet and soon the ground changed from the fresh, soft grass to the damp and earthy ground of the forest just as Sirius had entered the dark, cover of the woods the sun had risen over the hill. Sirius looked around him there wasn't much cover here the wood was mainly made up of Ash and Silver Birch the trees were thin and if anyone came walking now they would see him clearly. From here however Sirius could see a small village with a church at the top of a small hill a road ran across the bottom of the woods straight into the village the woods followed the road until close to the village when the woods petered out. Sirius considered going straight into the village but thought to look for cover in the woods first, if he went into there was a possibility that he would be recognised. He knew the Muggle public had been told about him and his face had been on the front of their newspapers but his appearance had drastically changed since the beginning of his time in Azkaban that he didn't know if people would recognise him. So he started walking through the woods keeping the road below him but walking away from the village.

The woods thickened a little and he found the floor below him changed from bare dirt to a mossy under floor. Buckbeak had followed him loyally and now stood beside him sniffing the air. Sirius decided that the clearing would be a good base for him and Buckbeak to rest a little as it was more covered than the rest of the woods, he could still be seen if someone looked closely as if looking for something but otherwise he would be well protected. As he stepped further into the clearing and looked for a suitable place to lay down Buckbeak tensed and began to back up. Sirius knew that he should trust any movement that Buckbeak made the Hippogriff had better senses than Sirius. As Buckbeak began to hunch lower to the ground Sirius began to back up and looked towards to woods on the other side of the clearing where Buckbeak's gaze was directed.

He must of being standing there for about half a minute that seemed to stretch on for what felt like half an hour and just as he was beginning to question what the Hippogriff was so tense about a black Labrador jumped out of the woods. The dog stood gazing perplexed at the beast in front of him before the barking began Buckbeak then started to rear trying to attack the dog. Sirius didn't know what to do he couldn't think the tiredness wiping his mind of what he could possibly do.

"Barney stop! What are you doing you dumb dog!"

A middle age man came ambling through the woods then and stopped.

"What are you doing?" He asked Sirius.

Sirius gazed at him perplexed and then suddenly a memory of Hogwarts came into his mind they'd been learning about Hippogriffs "Muggles can't see the Hippogriff they have a disillusionment charm placed on them". Then he knew this old man was simply staring at a bedraggled man standing barefoot in the forest, no wonder he was concerned, Sirius's face stretched into a manic grin he was safer now he thought.

"YOU'RE HIM!"

Sirius had paid no attention to the man and was snapped back to reality he looked at him then saw the fear and shock on the man's face, he knew the man knew he was 'the man from the news'. He snapped into action pulling out his wand and whispering the words "Obliviate". At this Sirius turned and ran with Buckbeak at his side he was worried about the dog but ran as fast as his weak limbs could carry him he made the snap the decision to head for the village at least he could get food there. He heard a bark behind him and saw the Labrador chasing Sirius blurred and changed into Padfoot drained at the energy it had used but stood before the dog who began to bark at Buckbeak again.

Sirius barked back just as fiercely the middle age man then came bumbling through breaking twigs loudly underfoot obviously still confused after the obliviate charm. He stopped when he saw Padfoot's form Sirius wasn't surprised he was a bloody massive dog when in his Animagi form. The man called his dog who was backing away from Sirius's new form. Sirius then turned and fled toward the village he could feel his energy draining but was determined to get there.

He was out of the woods faster than he thought he would it was still early morning and not many people were around so he decided to find any shelter he could. In his Padfoot form Sirius began trotting down the road hiding next to cars and behind bushes sniffing at the houses. With is greater sense of smell he could decide on a house he wanted to smell he went from house to house but there were too many problems with them. Children, cats, dogs. These things would more likely notice him and it was always easier to hide from adults they didn't run around and look in places they shouldn't. Padfoot looked up he realised he was now close to the church and that's where he saw a viable hiding place.

It was an old shed far behind the church it had once been white but was now a brown white with plants climbing the walls it had a small window at the side and a corrugated iron roof. He hurried forward into the churchyard racing past the numerous gravestones and reached the shed. Binding the dark double doors at the front was a thick chain with a heavy padlock it was rusting and almost had vines growing over it. Sirius changed into his human form and tapped his wand to lock "Alohomora" the lock wanted to object but finally gave away to the magic. Sirius removed the chains quickly not caring about the noise wanting to find cover he tore at the vines on the door and tugged the door open. He then snuck inside followed closely by Buckbeak, shutting the door firmly behind him, despite the shed's dilapidated appearance it was covered and didn't seem to let in the cold. Sirius sagged and laid down onto the hard floor immediately he felt sleep creeping up on him he but before he let himself rest he placed wards around himself and Buckbeak hoping nobody would notice the disturbed vines and chains.

A/N: If anyone's pedantic I know in HP eye contact has to be maintained with a Hippogriff but it would be too hard to write that, sorry! Also if anyone is reading sorry for the wait and if you want more action sorry (again) I just like a lot of detail!


	3. Onwards

He woke with a start. He had dreamed he was in his dorm in Hogwarts surrounded by his friends but when he woke he saw that he was in fact surrounded by shelves and a Hippogriff. It was not a thought he ever thought would cross his mind. This was not a place he ever thought he would be. This was not the time he had to move, get out of England, and find some paradise. He did not know how long he had slept but when he woke it was dark.

His bones ached from the cold when he got up it was cold in the shed and the moon hung brightly in the sky it was waning. He wondered how Moony was after the full moon. Buckbeak was stirring. It was time to move it was not enough rest Sirius felt it in his bones but once again this was not the time. He nudged Buckbeak who looked at him as if he expected food Sirius could do nothing but stare at the Hippogriff.

He made his way towards the door gently nudging it open to look around there was nothing but the graves and the looming church. He walked out keeping low to the ground he was followed by Buckbeak he could hear nothing. It was now or never and so he mounted Buckbeak and took off they were covered by the dark night air.

He soon fell into the motion of the movement with Buckbeak below him it felt almost like he had done it his whole life. They were heading south once again with the ground below them. He knew he could be spotted if people were looking but he had to find his paradise.

They flew on and on covering bright cities and vacant countryside. He knew was over France he wanted to head to the edge of West Africa before he took off. The Caribbean was to be his destination. When he was in Hogwarts he had spent time in the library with Moony and instead of studying he had looked at the globe asking Moony about each country he had always been fascinated by those small islands that were meant to be warm and vibrant. He had always been dragged away by Prongs to make some mischief but he always remembered the quiet times with Remus studying the globe.

All too soon it was beginning to get light and he headed to the ground it was the middle of nowhere he slept and when he woke it was dark once again. Once again he took flight. He needed food and water it had been on his mind but mainly he wanted to escape but the ache from his stomach was becoming unbearable and his throat was so dry it was hard to swallow.

This time he landed outside a city he left Buckbeak in the forest reassuring the animal that he would bring back water he trusted the Hippogriff was able to hunt. When he ventured towards the city the sign were all in French so at least he knew which country he was in though he could not tell exactly where. He did not want to venture in the centre of the city only to the edges where he may be able to find food. This presented its own problems firstly that Sirius had no money and secondly he looked like a tramp. The latter could be quickly resolved through some quick transfiguring of his clothes he had never been the best at Transfiguration but he could manage transfiguring of some clothes. He did it in the shadows before he was spotted. To get the food he guessed he would have to steal there was no other way. He would of found some dramatic irony in it- an innocent man breaking the law to survive- but Sirius had broken the law before not just Hogwarts rules.

He passed many shops before he found his chosen target. The others looked as though they were owned by families and although it meant Sirius had to travel further into the city he wasn't that heartless and so he finally decided to steal from a shop that was clearly from a chain. He stepped inside the shop was largely deserted there were two or three people around and no one paid him any attention he headed towards a chiller cabinet he found baguettes filled with ham, he picked up two and a large bottle of water. He stepped closer to the door as if he was looking at the magazines he knew if he ran he would seem suspicious and he had lingered long enough and so he just stepped out it was as simple as that. As soon as he had he heard a shout behind him, he had expected that, and so he ran.

Sirius ran and ran until he reached the place he had left Buckbeak. He had lost the man a while ago but carried on running anyway. When he arrived Buckbeak had dead rabbits at his feet obviously pleased with his kills. Sirius dug a small hole into the ground and poured water into it for the Buckbeak to drink from while Sirius drank water and ate. He ate so much that his stomach ached once again but he was satisfied with this ache it was because he was full.

Sirius could have changed into his dog form however he had been living like that for too long and sometimes he scared himself that he may never be able to change back plus he wanted human food once again.

And so his life continued he would travel at night and sleep at day and would steal food from places it was repetitive and boring. However sometimes Sirius would become alert and realise once again he was free and the feeling of elation would sometimes be too much to bear.

Sirius finally arrived in west Africa this would be where he would take off they would have to fly day and night to arrive in the Caribbean. It would take long and at the end both parties would be tired.

Sirius rested for two days and stole food for himself and plenty of water and after the rest they took off once more. Sirius was used to the darkness having had to fly in it the whole way but when the sun rose once more he was almost blinded. He revelled in the warmth. From high up he could see the islands before they were close. He could feel Buckbeak lagging below him but urged him on pointing and directing him towards the islands. He had no idea which one it was but it was small and seemed to have some small villages but was largely uninhabited.

Finally he landed. In his paradise.


	4. Safety?

He woke surrounded by alien trees and a humid air, Sirius had fallen asleep as soon as he had landed slipping off Buckbeak's back onto the soft ground and instantly slept. As he woke he felt is bones cracking into place after the sleep on the hard ground he didn't know how long he had been asleep however the sun hung low in the sky after being freshly risen.

Sirius looked around him, he was in thick woodland, the ground was soft, and the air humid. When he made to move animals skittered from under leaves on the ground and some birds fluttered in the air. That's when Sirius noticed that Buckbeak was gone he first thought the Hippogriff had simply gone a bit further from Sirius but as he began to search the surrounding undergrowth but soon he frantically began searching as the beast was nowhere near "BUCKBEAK!" Sirius began shouting he hadn't seen any sign of human habitation so was not concerned with the noise he was making.

He then saw a flash of white that Sirius knew immediately to be the flank of Buckbeak but as he calmed and went to move closer he heard a voice "Why I've never seen one of you since school, what are you doing here?" He recognised the voice as of a woman and he realised that she must be magical otherwise she wouldn't be able to see Buckbeak. He slowed his pace drawing as near as he could.

He drew as close as he could and hid behind a thick knot of trees he was looking onto a track. Buckbeak stood broad and proud as a woman stood in front of him murmuring questions to him and stroking his face. She must have known how to deal with Hippogriffs then as she was holding eye contact with Buckbeak and he was allowing her to pet him. She was tall, slender but muscular; she was wearing a vest with shorts, and she had dark skin.

Sirius didn't know if he should be cautious around her; was he a wanted man in wherever the hell he was? Would she know him? As these thoughts ran through his head he heard the crack of a twig on the ground he looked up from his covering behind a bush. "Fuck" he whispered under his breath as Buckbeak had turned obviously aware of his presence and so had she. She had taken a step forward and was peering at him. It was now Sirius realised her beauty she had a round face, full lips, and piercing green eyes. Sirius was almost mesmerised but was soon brought out of it when he saw her taking steps toward his position. Sirius had little time to decide what to do as she grew closer.

He bounded out in his Animagi form she was taken aback and fell onto the ground she then began laughing. Sirius began staring at her with his dog form he could smell her she smelt like nutmeg, some exotic flowers and the Earth it was intoxicating. "Well this is an odd pair a massive dog and a Hippogriff this is like a weird Homeward Bound" she said smiling. She stood up and brushed the dirt from her. She then began to walk after a few paces she turned back to Sirius and Buckbeak "Well do you want to come?" she asked with a smile on her face. Buckbeak began to follow immediately she then turned to Sirius "There'll be food" she said in a teasing voice Sirius was tempted and she would never know who he was if he remained in his dog form when in her company. He followed at a slower pace they made their way slowly along the little dirt track.

She abruptly turned left after they had walked for what seemed to Sirius, in his still tired mind, an age. He had begun to hear the sea a while ago and as they turned left it got louder. Then as if from nowhere there was a house it was wooden and almost invisible in the woods. She pulled open the wicker door and allowed them in. She then began making noises in the kitchen Sirius lay down the walk had tired him and now he hoped for the food she had promised and soon enough he was laid before him. She ruffled his hair "Hello dog by the way I'm Charo."

* * *

A/N: I know it's a very short chapter but i wanted to get it out of the way also I know it's very quick their meeting but Sirius **is** a dog at the moment so the haven't really 'met' yet!


	5. Home

He didn't wake until late the next day and when he did he was so confused by his surroundings that he almost slipped into his human form once again but the arrival of Charo into the room reminded him of the day before and he stayed as he was. She smiled down at him "Morning dog! Though I wouldn't exactly call it morning any more" she said with a chuckle. She leant down and ruffled his hair Sirius hated it when people did this but thought that biting his new 'owner' may result in him being kicked out.

Sirius decided to look around the home. He looked in the kitchen first it was small and somewhat untidy but smelt of fresh herbs and spices there was little in the kitchen that was magical apart from a spoon stirring a pot on the stove. Sirius thought back on magical kitchens often with a house elf running around and other utensils left to their own devices. He left to the living room where Charo was sitting down reading book it was a fairly large room with one side a complete window looking over the ocean, another covered in a Muriel of what appeared to be a forest it reminded Sirius of the Forbidden Forest dark, green and mysterious and finally the third wall was completely covered with books. This was where Charo's magical heritage could be seen there were books upon books about herbology, potions, defence against the dark arts, and transfiguration some of them looked intensely boring and others looked fascinating like something he and James would've stolen from the restricted section. Then at the very bottom covered by a thin layer of dust was 'Hogwarts: A History'. Sirius swung around to look at Charo anyone could buy a copy of the book but he knew that every student who is from a Muggle background was gifted one upon entry to give them some context for the world they were about to enter. Charo did seem to be Muggle like in the way she seemed to use magically very sparingly he was now studying her she seemed to be younger than him but not by much if he had to guess he would say late twenties that would put here at Hogwarts (if she went) while he was in his final few years. If she had he couldn't remember her but to be honest he hadn't tried to memorise first years he'd been in the bubble that had been the Marauder's world but it could mean she would know who he was as he and his friends had been practically famous at Hogwarts this suddenly brought memories to the foreground of his mind he pushed them down once again focusing on the woman in front of him. "What do you want dog?" she suddenly muttered and turned her gaze towards Sirius he shook himself out of his stare and continued onto her bedroom still musing on the possibility of her knowing him, she chuckled as he left at his apparent awkwardness. The bedroom was also filled with books they weren't on shelves they were instead piled in stacks on the floor surrounded by clothes and other junk. Even though it was a mess it had a sense of home that Sirius could relate to adjoining it was a bathroom there was once again little sign of magic some of the books were about magic others were muggle literature. Overall the house was small but Sirius liked it there was the sense of home like when he had stepped into Gryffindor tower.

However comfortable it felt Sirius knew he couldn't stay here forever he may have to eventually move on due to being followed and he wasn't going to allow the Ministry stopping him being Harry's godfather now that he was free of Azkaban and Harry knew who he was. He tried to think of what to do Buckbeak had stayed close so Sirius still had him to rely on when he needed to return and when he did he still had Remus who would help him. Thinking of Remus was painful; he had found one of his best friends the only connection to his past life before the death of James and Lily and now he was on an unknown island away from Remus and Harry with a Hippogriff.

In the coming days Sirius tried to think of what to do it sometimes he was close to leaving on some occasions on others he wondered what harm it could really do to stay here for a while. He also tried to distance himself from Charo she would however still ruffle his fur, insist on stroking him which sometimes he hated to admit he enjoyed and she had taken to calling him Snuffles she always smiled while saying it Sirius also hated to admit he found her happiness quite infectious and started to dwell less and less on what happened. He still thought about it but now instead he thought on the plus sides; he had Remus and Harry, he had escaped, and he had completely and utterly pissed off Snape which to Sirius was always a plus.

After days of staying at Charo's home she promptly announced one morning to 'Snuffles' that she was taking him to the main town she glanced at Buckbeak "Sorry you're not coming in case you cause invisible havoc" she said with a hint of both amusement and sympathy. She lead Sirius out of the house onto the track where they meet they walked for over 2 hours Charo turning from dirt track to dirt track until they finally arrived on the outskirts of a small town. "This is what we call the bay" she said looking down at Sirius with a smile on her face they started to head into the town though Sirius thought town would be a bit too far it was more like a spread out village it was right on the ocean and the houses were mainly 2 storeys made of brick or concrete some were painted plain colours while others were bright colours: green, pink, and yellow it reminded Sirius of some villages he had seen on a Scottish island once.

They only walked for about 2 minutes and they were in the centre of the 'town' at the harbour's edge where a boat was just arriving a few people who were obviously tourists got off the boat and when they had passed someone handed a large container from the boat to some on land this seemed to be the fascination of people on the harbour's edge. It turned out to be a mail bag the person sorting the mail seemed to recognise Charo on sight and handed her a thick pile of letters and parcels she took it gratefully. They turned away and quickly headed towards the only house not made of brick it was a wooden hut surrounded by trees she entered without knocking. Once inside it was obvious this was a magical dwelling inside was reminiscent of a grand English house it had dark purple walls, oak furniture and leather sofas and armchairs "It's like a TARDIS isn't it" Charo murmured down to him Sirius had no idea what a TARDIS was but he was certainly disorientated by his surroundings.

Just then a tall, thin man emerged from another room off to the right he smiled at the sight of Charo "Ah I wondered when you'd come" he spoke with an English accent "who's this then?" indicating Sirius who turned to the man after being distracted by the room. He had white hair that was thinning on the top, dark brown eyes that seemed very curious and was wearing a grey suit "My acquired pet" Charo said with a chuckle "Has he returned?"

"Ah yes I'll just get him" he turned away. Sirius was intrigued into who this 'he' was and by the man Charo seemed so friendly with just then he returned with a magnificent, exotic bird that also held letters for Charo "Ah god to have you back Helga" she said taking the bird from him "Oh and thanks George I won't be needing to send any letters soon" she said with a smile. As she was leaving George leant down to stroke Sirius's head while he was doing this he whispered into Sirius's ear "I can sense you're an Animagi I'll be watching you".


End file.
